章节正文
cannot possibly allow. People always seem to think that they are
improper, and either look shocked, which is vulgar, or laugh, which
is worse. But German sounds a thoroughlyrespectable language, and
indeed, I believe is so. Gwendolen, you will accompany me.
GWENDOLEN. Certainly, mamma.
[LADY BRACKNELL and ALGERNON go into the music-room, GWENDOLEN
remains behind.]
JACK. Charming day it has been, Miss Fairfax.
GWENDOLEN. Pray don't talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing.
Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite
certain that they mean something else. And that makes me so
nervous.
JACK. I do mean something else.
GWENDOLEN. I thought so. In fact, I am never wrong.
JACK. And I would like to be allowed to take advantage of Lady
Bracknell's temporaryabsence . . .
GWENDOLEN. I would certainly advise you to do so. Mamma has a way
of coming back suddenly into a room that I have often had to speak
to her about.
JACK. [Nervously.] Miss Fairfax, ever since I met you I have
admired you more than any girl . . . I have ever met since . . . I
met you.
GWENDOLEN. Yes, I am quite well aware of the fact. And I often
wish that in public, at any rate, you had been more demonstrative.
For me you have always had an irresistiblefascination. Even
before I met you I was far from indifferent to you. [JACK looks at
her in amazement.] We live, as I hope you know, Mr Worthing, in an
age of ideals. The fact is constantly mentioned in the more
expensive monthly magazines, and has reached the provincial
pulpits, I am told; and my ideal has always been to love some one
of the name of Ernest. There is something in that name that
inspires absolute confidence. The moment Algernon first mentioned
to me that he had a friend called Ernest, I knew I was destined to
love you.
JACK. You really love me, Gwendolen?
GWENDOLEN. Passionately!
JACK. Darling! You don't know how happy you've made me.
GWENDOLEN. My own Ernest!
JACK. But you don't really mean to say that you couldn't love me
if my name wasn't Ernest?
GWENDOLEN. But your name is Ernest.
JACK. Yes, I know it is. But supposing it was something else? Do
you mean to say you couldn't love me then?
GWENDOLEN. [Glibly.] Ah! that is clearly a metaphysical
speculation, and like most metaphysical speculations has very
little reference at all to the actual facts of real life, as we
know them.
JACK. Personally, darling, to speak quite candidly, I don't much
care about the name of Ernest . . . I don't think the name suits me
at all.
GWENDOLEN. It suits you perfectly. It is a divine name. It has a
music of its own. It produces vibrations.
JACK. Well, really, Gwendolen, I must say that I think there are
lots of other much nicer names. I think Jack, for instance, a
charming name.
GWENDOLEN. Jack? . . . No, there is very little music in the name
Jack, if any at all, indeed. It does not thrill. It produces
absolutely no vibrations . . . I have known several Jacks, and they
all, without exception, were more than usually plain. Besides,
Jack is a notorious domesticity for John! And I pity any woman who
is married to a man called John. She would probably never be
allowed to know the entrancing pleasure of a single moment's
solitude. The only really safe name is Ernest
JACK. Gwendolen, I must get christened at once - I mean we must
get married at once. There is no time to be lost.
GWENDOLEN. Married, Mr. Worthing?
JACK. [Astounded.] Well . . . surely. You know that I love you,
and you led me to believe, Miss Fairfax, that you were not
absolutely indifferent to me.
GWENDOLEN. I adore you. But you haven't proposed to me yet.
Nothing has been said at all about marriage. The subject has not
even been touched on.
JACK. Well . . . may I propose to you now?
GWENDOLEN. I think it would be an admirable opportunity. And to
spare you any possible disappointment, Mr. Worthing, I think it
only fair to tell you quite frankly before-hand that I am fully
determined to accept you.
JACK. Gwendolen!
GWENDOLEN. Yes, Mr. Worthing, what have you got to say to me?
JACK. You know what I have got to say to you.
GWENDOLEN. Yes, but you don't say it.
JACK. Gwendolen, will you marry me? [Goes on his knees.]
GWENDOLEN. Of course I will, darling. How long you have been
about it! I am afraid you have had very little experience in how
to propose.
JACK. My own one, I have never loved any one in the world but you.
GWENDOLEN. Yes, but men often propose for practice. I know my
brother Gerald does. All my girl-friends tell me so. What
wonderfully blue eyes you have, Ernest! They are quite, quite,
blue. I hope you will always look at me just like that, especially
when there are other people present. [Enter LADY BRACKNELL.]
LADY BRACKNELL. Mr. Worthing! Rise, sir, from this semi-recumbent
posture. It is most indecorous.
GWENDOLEN. Mamma! [He tries to rise; she restrains him.] I must
beg you to retire. This is no place for you. Besides, Mr.
Worthing has not quite finished yet.
LADY BRACKNELL. Finished what, may I ask?
GWENDOLEN. I am engaged to Mr. Worthing, mamma. [They rise
together.]
LADY BRACKNELL. Pardon me, you are not engaged to any one. When
you do become engaged to some one, I, or your father, should his
health permit him, will inform you of the fact. An engagement
should come on a young girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant,
as the case may be. It is hardly a matter that she could be
allowed to arrange for herself . . . And now I have a few questions
to put to you, Mr. Worthing. While I am making these inquiries,
you, Gwendolen, will wait for me below in the carriage.
GWENDOLEN. [Reproachfully.] Mamma!
LADY BRACKNELL. In the carriage, Gwendolen! [GWENDOLEN goes to
the door. She and JACK blow kisses to each other behind LADY
BRACKNELL'S back. LADY BRACKNELL looks vaguely about as if she
could not understand what the noise was. Finally turns round.]
Gwendolen, the carriage!
GWENDOLEN. Yes, mamma. [Goes out, looking back at JACK.]
LADY BRACKNELL. [Sitting down.] You can take a seat, Mr.
Worthing.
[Looks in her pocket for note-book and pencil.]
JACK. Thank you, Lady Bracknell, I prefer standing.
LADY BRACKNELL. [Pencil and note-book in hand.] I feel bound to
tell you that you are not down on my list of eligible young men,
although I have the same list as the dear Duchess of Bolton has.
We work together, in fact. However, I am quite ready to enter your
name, should your answers be what a really affectionate mother
requires. Do you smoke?
JACK. Well, yes, I must admit I smoke.
LADY BRACKNELL. I am glad to hear it. A man should always have an
occupation of some kind. There are far too many idle men in London
as it is. How old are you?
JACK. Twenty-nine.
LADY BRACKNELL. A very good age to be married at. I have always
been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know
either everything or nothing. Which do you know?
JACK. [After some hesitation.] I know nothing, Lady Bracknell.
LADY BRACKNELL. I am pleased to hear it. I do not approve of
anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a
delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole
theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in
England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. If
it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and
probably lead to acts of violence in Grosvenor Square. What is
your income?
JACK. Between seven and eight thousand a year.
LADY BRACKNELL. [Makes a note in her book.] In land, or in
investments?
JACK. In investments, chiefly.
LADY BRACKNELL. That is satisfactory. What between the duties
expected of one during one's lifetime, and the duties exacted from
one after one's death, land has ceased to be either a profit or a
pleasure. It gives one position, and prevents one from keeping it
up. That's all that can be said about land.
JACK. I have a country house with some land, of course, attached
to it, about fifteen hundred acres, I believe; but I don't depend
on that for my real income. In fact, as far as I can make out, the
poachers are the only people who make anything out of it.
LADY BRACKNELL. A country house! How many bedrooms? Well, that
point can be cleared up afterwards. You have a town house, I hope?
A girl with a simple, unspoiled nature, like Gwendolen, could
hardly be expected to reside in the country.
JACK. Well, I own a house in Belgrave Square, but it is let by the
year to Lady Bloxham. Of course, I can get it back whenever I
like, at six months' notice.
LADY BRACKNELL. Lady Bloxham? I don't know her.
JACK. Oh, she goes about very little. She is a lady considerably
advanced in years.
LADY BRACKNELL. Ah, nowadays that is no guarantee of
respectability of character. What number in Belgrave Square?
JACK. 149.
LADY BRACKNELL. [Shaking her head.] The unfashionable side. I
thought there was something. However, that could easily be
altered.
JACK. Do you mean the fashion, or the side?
LADY BRACKNELL. [Sternly.] Both, if necessary, I presume. What
are your polities?
JACK. Well, I am afraid I really have none. I am a Liberal
Unionist.
LADY BRACKNELL. Oh, they count as Tories. They dine with us. Or
come in the evening, at any rate. Now to minor matters. Are your
parents living?
JACK. I have lost both my parents.
LADY BRACKNELL. To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded
as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. Who was
your father? He was evidently a man of some wealth. Was he born
in what the Radical papers call the purple of commerce, or did he
rise from the ranks of the aristocracy?
JACK. I am afraid I really don't know. The fact is, Lady
Bracknell, I said I had lost my parents. It would be nearer the
truth to say that my parents seem to have lost me . . . I don't
actually know who I am by birth. I was . . . well, I was found.
LADY BRACKNELL. Found!
JACK. The late Mr. Thomas Cardew, an old gentleman of a very
charitable and kindly disposition, found me, and gave me the name
of Worthing, because he happened to have a first-class ticket for
Worthing in his pocket at the time. Worthing is a place in Sussex.
It is a seaside resort.
LADY BRACKNELL. Where did the charitable gentleman who had a
first-class ticket for this seaside resort find you?
JACK. [Gravely.] In a hand-bag.
LADY BRACKNELL. A hand-bag?
JACK. [Very seriously.] Yes, Lady Bracknell. I was in a hand-bag
- a somewhat large, black leather hand-bag, with handles to it - an
ordinary hand-bag in fact.
improper, and either look shocked, which is vulgar, or laugh, which
is worse. But German sounds a thoroughlyrespectable language, and
indeed, I believe is so. Gwendolen, you will accompany me.
GWENDOLEN. Certainly, mamma.
[LADY BRACKNELL and ALGERNON go into the music-room, GWENDOLEN
remains behind.]
JACK. Charming day it has been, Miss Fairfax.
GWENDOLEN. Pray don't talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing.
Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite
certain that they mean something else. And that makes me so
nervous.
JACK. I do mean something else.
GWENDOLEN. I thought so. In fact, I am never wrong.
JACK. And I would like to be allowed to take advantage of Lady
Bracknell's temporaryabsence . . .
GWENDOLEN. I would certainly advise you to do so. Mamma has a way
of coming back suddenly into a room that I have often had to speak
to her about.
JACK. [Nervously.] Miss Fairfax, ever since I met you I have
admired you more than any girl . . . I have ever met since . . . I
met you.
GWENDOLEN. Yes, I am quite well aware of the fact. And I often
wish that in public, at any rate, you had been more demonstrative.
For me you have always had an irresistiblefascination. Even
before I met you I was far from indifferent to you. [JACK looks at
her in amazement.] We live, as I hope you know, Mr Worthing, in an
age of ideals. The fact is constantly mentioned in the more
expensive monthly magazines, and has reached the provincial
pulpits, I am told; and my ideal has always been to love some one
of the name of Ernest. There is something in that name that
inspires absolute confidence. The moment Algernon first mentioned
to me that he had a friend called Ernest, I knew I was destined to
love you.
JACK. You really love me, Gwendolen?
GWENDOLEN. Passionately!
JACK. Darling! You don't know how happy you've made me.
GWENDOLEN. My own Ernest!
JACK. But you don't really mean to say that you couldn't love me
if my name wasn't Ernest?
GWENDOLEN. But your name is Ernest.
JACK. Yes, I know it is. But supposing it was something else? Do
you mean to say you couldn't love me then?
GWENDOLEN. [Glibly.] Ah! that is clearly a metaphysical
speculation, and like most metaphysical speculations has very
little reference at all to the actual facts of real life, as we
know them.
JACK. Personally, darling, to speak quite candidly, I don't much
care about the name of Ernest . . . I don't think the name suits me
at all.
GWENDOLEN. It suits you perfectly. It is a divine name. It has a
music of its own. It produces vibrations.
JACK. Well, really, Gwendolen, I must say that I think there are
lots of other much nicer names. I think Jack, for instance, a
charming name.
GWENDOLEN. Jack? . . . No, there is very little music in the name
Jack, if any at all, indeed. It does not thrill. It produces
absolutely no vibrations . . . I have known several Jacks, and they
all, without exception, were more than usually plain. Besides,
Jack is a notorious domesticity for John! And I pity any woman who
is married to a man called John. She would probably never be
allowed to know the entrancing pleasure of a single moment's
solitude. The only really safe name is Ernest
JACK. Gwendolen, I must get christened at once - I mean we must
get married at once. There is no time to be lost.
GWENDOLEN. Married, Mr. Worthing?
JACK. [Astounded.] Well . . . surely. You know that I love you,
and you led me to believe, Miss Fairfax, that you were not
absolutely indifferent to me.
GWENDOLEN. I adore you. But you haven't proposed to me yet.
Nothing has been said at all about marriage. The subject has not
even been touched on.
JACK. Well . . . may I propose to you now?
GWENDOLEN. I think it would be an admirable opportunity. And to
spare you any possible disappointment, Mr. Worthing, I think it
only fair to tell you quite frankly before-hand that I am fully
determined to accept you.
JACK. Gwendolen!
GWENDOLEN. Yes, Mr. Worthing, what have you got to say to me?
JACK. You know what I have got to say to you.
GWENDOLEN. Yes, but you don't say it.
JACK. Gwendolen, will you marry me? [Goes on his knees.]
GWENDOLEN. Of course I will, darling. How long you have been
about it! I am afraid you have had very little experience in how
to propose.
JACK. My own one, I have never loved any one in the world but you.
GWENDOLEN. Yes, but men often propose for practice. I know my
brother Gerald does. All my girl-friends tell me so. What
wonderfully blue eyes you have, Ernest! They are quite, quite,
blue. I hope you will always look at me just like that, especially
when there are other people present. [Enter LADY BRACKNELL.]
LADY BRACKNELL. Mr. Worthing! Rise, sir, from this semi-recumbent
posture. It is most indecorous.
GWENDOLEN. Mamma! [He tries to rise; she restrains him.] I must
beg you to retire. This is no place for you. Besides, Mr.
Worthing has not quite finished yet.
LADY BRACKNELL. Finished what, may I ask?
GWENDOLEN. I am engaged to Mr. Worthing, mamma. [They rise
together.]
LADY BRACKNELL. Pardon me, you are not engaged to any one. When
you do become engaged to some one, I, or your father, should his
health permit him, will inform you of the fact. An engagement
should come on a young girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant,
as the case may be. It is hardly a matter that she could be
allowed to arrange for herself . . . And now I have a few questions
to put to you, Mr. Worthing. While I am making these inquiries,
you, Gwendolen, will wait for me below in the carriage.
GWENDOLEN. [Reproachfully.] Mamma!
LADY BRACKNELL. In the carriage, Gwendolen! [GWENDOLEN goes to
the door. She and JACK blow kisses to each other behind LADY
BRACKNELL'S back. LADY BRACKNELL looks vaguely about as if she
could not understand what the noise was. Finally turns round.]
Gwendolen, the carriage!
GWENDOLEN. Yes, mamma. [Goes out, looking back at JACK.]
LADY BRACKNELL. [Sitting down.] You can take a seat, Mr.
Worthing.
[Looks in her pocket for note-book and pencil.]
JACK. Thank you, Lady Bracknell, I prefer standing.
LADY BRACKNELL. [Pencil and note-book in hand.] I feel bound to
tell you that you are not down on my list of eligible young men,
although I have the same list as the dear Duchess of Bolton has.
We work together, in fact. However, I am quite ready to enter your
name, should your answers be what a really affectionate mother
requires. Do you smoke?
JACK. Well, yes, I must admit I smoke.
LADY BRACKNELL. I am glad to hear it. A man should always have an
occupation of some kind. There are far too many idle men in London
as it is. How old are you?
JACK. Twenty-nine.
LADY BRACKNELL. A very good age to be married at. I have always
been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know
either everything or nothing. Which do you know?
JACK. [After some hesitation.] I know nothing, Lady Bracknell.
LADY BRACKNELL. I am pleased to hear it. I do not approve of
anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a
delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole
theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in
England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. If
it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and
probably lead to acts of violence in Grosvenor Square. What is
your income?
JACK. Between seven and eight thousand a year.
LADY BRACKNELL. [Makes a note in her book.] In land, or in
investments?
JACK. In investments, chiefly.
LADY BRACKNELL. That is satisfactory. What between the duties
expected of one during one's lifetime, and the duties exacted from
one after one's death, land has ceased to be either a profit or a
pleasure. It gives one position, and prevents one from keeping it
up. That's all that can be said about land.
JACK. I have a country house with some land, of course, attached
to it, about fifteen hundred acres, I believe; but I don't depend
on that for my real income. In fact, as far as I can make out, the
poachers are the only people who make anything out of it.
LADY BRACKNELL. A country house! How many bedrooms? Well, that
point can be cleared up afterwards. You have a town house, I hope?
A girl with a simple, unspoiled nature, like Gwendolen, could
hardly be expected to reside in the country.
JACK. Well, I own a house in Belgrave Square, but it is let by the
year to Lady Bloxham. Of course, I can get it back whenever I
like, at six months' notice.
LADY BRACKNELL. Lady Bloxham? I don't know her.
JACK. Oh, she goes about very little. She is a lady considerably
advanced in years.
LADY BRACKNELL. Ah, nowadays that is no guarantee of
respectability of character. What number in Belgrave Square?
JACK. 149.
LADY BRACKNELL. [Shaking her head.] The unfashionable side. I
thought there was something. However, that could easily be
altered.
JACK. Do you mean the fashion, or the side?
LADY BRACKNELL. [Sternly.] Both, if necessary, I presume. What
are your polities?
JACK. Well, I am afraid I really have none. I am a Liberal
Unionist.
LADY BRACKNELL. Oh, they count as Tories. They dine with us. Or
come in the evening, at any rate. Now to minor matters. Are your
parents living?
JACK. I have lost both my parents.
LADY BRACKNELL. To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded
as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. Who was
your father? He was evidently a man of some wealth. Was he born
in what the Radical papers call the purple of commerce, or did he
rise from the ranks of the aristocracy?
JACK. I am afraid I really don't know. The fact is, Lady
Bracknell, I said I had lost my parents. It would be nearer the
truth to say that my parents seem to have lost me . . . I don't
actually know who I am by birth. I was . . . well, I was found.
LADY BRACKNELL. Found!
JACK. The late Mr. Thomas Cardew, an old gentleman of a very
charitable and kindly disposition, found me, and gave me the name
of Worthing, because he happened to have a first-class ticket for
Worthing in his pocket at the time. Worthing is a place in Sussex.
It is a seaside resort.
LADY BRACKNELL. Where did the charitable gentleman who had a
first-class ticket for this seaside resort find you?
JACK. [Gravely.] In a hand-bag.
LADY BRACKNELL. A hand-bag?
JACK. [Very seriously.] Yes, Lady Bracknell. I was in a hand-bag
- a somewhat large, black leather hand-bag, with handles to it - an
ordinary hand-bag in fact.
- thoroughly [´θʌrəli]
ad.完全地，彻底地 (初中英语单词) - charming [´tʃɑ:miŋ] a.可爱的；极好的 (初中英语单词)
- advantage [əd´vɑ:ntidʒ] n.优势；利益 (初中英语单词)
- absence [´æbsəns] n.不在，缺席；缺乏 (初中英语单词)
- advise [əd´vaiz] vt.忠告；建议；通知 (初中英语单词)
- constantly [´kɔnstəntli] ad.经常地；不断地 (初中英语单词)
- absolute [´æbsəlu:t] a.绝对的 n.绝对 (初中英语单词)
- reference [´refərəns] n.参考；参照；出处 (初中英语单词)
- actual [´æktʃuəl] a.现实的；实际的 (初中英语单词)
- darling [´dɑ:liŋ] n.爱人 a.亲爱的 (初中英语单词)
- divine [di´vain] a.神圣的 v.预言 (初中英语单词)
- instance [´instəns] n.例子，实例，例证 (初中英语单词)
- thrill [θril] v.震惊；激动；刺激 (初中英语单词)
- exception [ik´sepʃən] n.例外；反对，异议 (初中英语单词)
- disappointment [,disə´pɔintmənt] n.失望；挫折 (初中英语单词)
- frankly [´fræŋkli] ad.直率地；慷慨地 (初中英语单词)
- retire [ri´taiə] v.撤退；退职；退休 (初中英语单词)
- pardon [´pɑ:dən] n.&vt.原谅；饶恕；赦免 (初中英语单词)
- carriage [´kæridʒ] n.马车；客车；货运 (初中英语单词)
- approve [ə´pru:v] v.赞成；同意；批准 (初中英语单词)
- ignorance [´ignərəns] n.无知，愚昧 (初中英语单词)
- violence [´vaiələns] n.猛烈；暴力(行) (初中英语单词)
- satisfactory [,sætis´fæktəri] a.令人满意的 (初中英语单词)
- income [´inkʌm] n.收入，所得 (初中英语单词)
- whenever [wen´evə] conj.&ad.无论何时 (初中英语单词)
- character [´kæriktə] n.特性；性质；人物；字 (初中英语单词)
- evidently [´evidəntli] ad.明显地 (初中英语单词)
- wealth [welθ] n.财富，财产 (初中英语单词)
- purple [´pə:pl] n.紫色 a.紫(红)的 (初中英语单词)
- commerce [´kɔmə:s] n.商业；社交；交流 (初中英语单词)
- disposition [,dispə´ziʃən] n.安排；性情；倾向 (初中英语单词)
- resort [ri´zɔ:t] vi.求助；乞灵；诉诸 (初中英语单词)
- respectable [ri´spektəbəl] a.可敬的；有身价的 (高中英语单词)
- temporary [´tempərəri] a.暂时的 n.临时工 (高中英语单词)
- indifferent [in´difrənt] a.不关心的；中立的 (高中英语单词)
- monthly [´mʌnθli] a.每月(的) n.月刊 (高中英语单词)
- personally [´pə:sənəli] ad.亲自；就个人来说 (高中英语单词)
- perfectly [´pə:fiktli] ad.理想地；完美地 (高中英语单词)
- admirable [´ædmərəbəl] a.极佳的，值得赞美的 (高中英语单词)
- duchess [´dʌtʃis] n.公爵夫人；女公爵 (高中英语单词)
- affectionate [ə´fekʃənit] a.亲爱的 (高中英语单词)
- fortunately [´fɔ:tʃənətli] ad.幸运地 (高中英语单词)
- lifetime [´laiftaim] n.一生，终生，寿命 (高中英语单词)
- reside [ri´zaid] vi.居住；(权利等)属于 (高中英语单词)
- guarantee [,gærən´ti:] n.保证；担保 vt.允诺 (高中英语单词)
- presume [pri´zju:m] v.假定；推测；以为 (高中英语单词)
- misfortune [mis´fɔ:tʃən] n.不幸；灾祸 (高中英语单词)
- radical [´rædikəl] a.根本的；主要的 (高中英语单词)
- vulgar [´vʌlgə] a.粗俗的；大众的 (英语四级单词)
- irresistible [,iri´zistəbəl] a.不可抵抗的 (英语四级单词)
- fascination [,fæsi´neiʃən] n.魅力；强烈爱好 (英语四级单词)
- notorious [nəu´tɔ:riəs] a.臭名昭著的 (英语四级单词)
- vaguely [´veigli] ad.含糊地，暖昧地 (英语四级单词)
- whatsoever [,wɔtsəu´evə] (强势语)=whatever (英语四级单词)
- carelessness [kɛəlisnis] n.粗心；漫不经心 (英语四级单词)
- charitable [´tʃæritəbəl] a.仁爱的；慈善的 (英语四级单词)
- first-class [´fə:st-´klɑ:s] a.头等的 ad.乘头等车 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
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